BUSINESS SUCCESSdownload.microsoft.com/documents/australia/dynamics/mbs...The Trail Blazers organization has a relatively fixed population to market tickets to in the Portland area

BUSINESS SUCCESSMicrosoft Dynamics CRM Customer showCase

CONTENTS

Company Industry deployment page

AbAcus Group pLc Distribution Premise 2

ToTAL sTrucTures Inc Manufacturing Live 3

porTLAnd TrAIL bLAzers Entertainment Premise 4

HsT Healthcare Premise 6

InG Group Financial Services Premise 8

MAdA coMMunIcATIon co. Telecommunications Premise 9

THe LInc Group Facility Management Premise 10

nobLe TrAde Wholesale Live 12

doosAn HeAvy IndusTrIes Engineering Live 14

MIcrosofT Software Premise 15

cALIfornIA TeAcHers AssocIATIon Professional Organization Premise 16

rAyMond JAMes fInAncIAL Financial Services Premise 18

HeIdTMAn sTeeL producTs Manufacturing, Sales Partner 20

sTAnLey AssocIATes Consulting Live 21

cH2MHILL Engineering Premise 22

THe norrIs Group Real Estate Live 24

HIGH 5 sporTsweAr, Inc. Manufacturing, Distribution Live 26

JbMrA Real Estate Live 27

souTH AfrIcAn TourIsM Tourism Premise 28

voLT InforMATIon scIences Staffing,ITServices Premise 30

AccIuM bIoscIences Biotech Live 32

1MICROSOFT DYNAMICS CRM

real Customers: real storIes: real BusIness results

MicrosoftDynamicsCRMprovidesorganizationswithahighlyflexiblecustomerrelationshipmanagement(CRM)platformthatcanadapt,grow,andscalealongwithyourbusiness.Thisreleasedeliverscapabilitiesthatfittheneedsofrealpeopleworking in today’s business environment while meeting the requirements of any size business, including global enterprises.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM is built on a commitment to provide organizations with the power of Choice to make it easy foryoutoevolveyourbusinessunencumberedbytechnologylimitations.Designedwithasingleunifiedcodebasefor both on-premise and on-demand deployments, Microsoft Dynamics CRM enables customers to choose the right deploymentmodelfortheirspecificbusinessandinformationtechnology(IT)needs,withtheflexibilitytochangedeployment models over time if business or IT preferences change.

Read the following stories to see how businesses have achieved consistent and measureable improvement in their everyday business processes in marketing, sales and customer service through the deployment of Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

INTRODUC-TION

2 MICROSOFT DYNAMICS CRM

coMpAnyAbacus Group PLCwww.abacus-group.co.uk

verTIcAL IndusTryElectronic Component Distributor

seGMenTMedium Business—900 employees

counTry/reGIonEMEA

sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM 4.0Windows Server® 2003MicrosoftOffice2003MicrosoftExchangeServer2003Microsoft SQL Server® 2005Windows® XP

MIcrosofT pArTnerEvorio IT Consultingwww.evorio.co.uk

“Microsoft dynamics crM allows a deep level of collaboration among our employees across multiple languages and currencies to a level we’ve never experienced before.” Stefan Maja, MIS Director, Abacus Group

sITuATIonAbacus Group is a major distributor of electronic components to OEMs throughout nine European nations. The cost of implementing and maintaining multiple instances of a CRM solution prevented managers from implementing a single, integrated application. “We have a presence across Europe and can’t implement CRM effectively without the ability of employees to view customer data in their own languages,” says Stefan Maja, MIS director for Abacus Group PLC.

soLuTIonIn the wake of two corporate acquisitions, managers needed to standardize on a single CRM platform. One of the acquired companies used SalesLogixwhilethesecondusedMicrosoftDynamicsCRM.Followingahead-to-headcompetitionbetweenthetwo,managersselectedtheMicrosoftsolution.“[MicrosoftDynamics]CRMworkswellwithOfficeOutlookandotherMicrosoftplatforms,”explainsMaja.“Wewantedto continue that user familiarity versus switching to a different platform.” When the latest version became available, managers chose to upgrade to it. “Microsoft [Dynamics] CRM 3.0 has been used as a fairly standalone solution at our company,” says Maja. “But with 4.0 we’re lookingtointegrateitwithourERPsystemaswellasusethemorerobustworkflowandnewmulti-languagecapabilities.”

benefITs“Operationally, [Microsoft Dynamics] CRM allows us to maintain one server based in the UK which our team can support easily,” says Pallab Mandal, operations manager for Abacus. That contrasts with the costly alternative, which would have required each language-based instance to have its own server. Moreover, the latest version’s more robust features make it easier to create reports based on constantly changingcriteria.Additionally,enhancingproductivityfiguredintothemanager’sdecisiontoupgrade.“Theworkflowin4.0ismuchmoreenhancedthanin3.0andissomethingthatweneedtoincreaseourefficiency,”saysMandal.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Helps abacus group plC Stay Current with Multi-lingual Employee Collaboration


coMpAnyTotal Structures, Inc.www.totalstructures.com

verTIcAL IndusTryStructural Systems Manufacturer

seGMenTSmall Business

counTry/reGIonUnited States

sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM Live 4.0Windows Small Business Server 2003MicrosoftOffice2000MicrosoftExchangeServerversion6.5.7638.1Windows XP Professional and Windows Vista® Business

MIcrosofT pArTnerWorkopia, Inc.www.workopia.com

“Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live serves a vital role in substantially increasing the efficiency of our sales people.” Adrian Forbes-Black, Vice President, Total Structures

sITuATIonWhen major event organizers require a structure to support the lighting, staging, and PA equipment necessary to make their show a success,theycometoTotalStructures.Thefirm’ssalespeoplemustpossessahighdegreeoftechnicalabilitytomapoutwhatcanbe done.ManagingthesalesanddeliveryofservicesusingMicrosoftOfficeExcel® spreadsheets and e-mail alone wasn’t sustainable for them.“Wehavealongsalesandfulfillmentcycle,”explainsAdrianForbes-Black,vicepresidentforTotalStructures“Inordertokeeptabs on prospects and shepherd opportunities to closing, our techie salespeople need a CRM tool to guide them through the sales process.”

soLuTIonTotal Structures is a small company that lacked the staff to support an in-house solution. “That was a major reason I chose the Microsoft [Dynamics] CRM Live implementation model,” says Forbes-Black. To date, he has completed basic customization of the salesmodule,addinganIMfieldandremovingnon-essentialfields.Next,salesprocesseswillbeencodedintoworkflowstoautomatecommunications and reminders that nudge salespeople along. Soon after, the service and marketing modules will be phased into use.

“Microsoft [Dynamics] CRM [Live] is easy to use, which helped with buy-in from our salespeople,” says Forbes-Black.

benefITs“MicrosoftDynamicsCRMLiveleadsoursalespeoplethroughtheprocess,”explainsForbes-Black.“Itwasano-brainertogowithbecauseanincreaseinefficiencyalonewillmorethanmakeupfortheinexpensivecost.”BygoingwithaLivedeploymentmodel,thecompany’smobilesales force can easily work offsite. “Our people can access the customer database through an Internet connection, which allows them to work independently,” says Forbes-Black “They can access a prospect’s record from a trade show and understand the relationship we’ve had withtheminthepast,forexample.”Andbecausecustomerdataiscentralized,employeescanaccessitandcontinuetodoworkwhentheircolleagues go on vacation or leave.

total structures, Inc. Gets Support from Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live to Enhance Sales Force Productivity


The Portland Trail Blazers organization sells tickets to 41 home basketball games as well as an estimated 250 additional events per year. With professional sports, concerts, and family events to promote,thefirmhasdevelopedanextensivelistofcustomersandprospects.Advertisingrevenuesexistforeachoftheseevents.Astheteam’slegacyOnyxCRMimplementationneareditsendof life, managers compared three alternatives to replace it. They chose Microsoft Dynamics CRM for its ease of use, adaptability, andscalabilityaswellasitsabilitytoincreaseefficiency.

busIness needsThePortlandTrailBlazerssalesofficefocusesontwoproductgroups.ThefirstisticketstotheNBAteam’s41homegamesayear as well as an estimated 250 additional events held at the Portland Rose Quarter campus. The 290 annual events draw all kinds of ticket purchasers—from sports fans to parents to teens anxioustohearthelatestbandinconcert.Therevenuesfromsponsorship sales make up the second of the organization’s product groups. The above events have the capacity to pull in 1.6 million people annually; consequently, there is a high demand from businesses to advertise at these events.

The Trail Blazers’ sales cycle for team tickets begins in the spring and continues throughout the season. “We focus heavily on basketball season ticket sales, then multi-game package sales and finallyindividualticketsales,”saysChrisDill,vicepresidentandCIOfortheTrailBlazers’organization.“Bythefirstquarteroftheyear, we shift our emphasis to season ticket renewals. A robust CRM solution is key to the success of our sales team and to our service department for the season ticket sales renewal cycle.” Unfortunately,theTrailBlazers’legacyimplementation,OnyxCRM,was nearing its end of life and the organization had to implement a new one rapidly.

soLuTIonDill’s team quickly narrowed viable options to three: Salesforce.com; SAP’s CRM solution, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. “Our evaluation criteria included ease of use, customizability, the ability tocreatedifferentview/dataaccessexperiencesforourvariousdepartments,scalability,andtheflexibilitytochangeandevolveasour organization grows,” states Dill.

There were two major reasons why the IT team chose Microsoft DynamicsCRM.“Inmyexperience,peopletypicallyrevoltagainstauserinterfaceifit’scumbersome,”explainsDill.“ThefamiliarMicrosoft look and feel was a big plus. Another thing we liked was the fact that we could adapt Microsoft Dynamics CRM to our business and processes. With our old application, we had to adapt ourprocessestofitintothesoftware’sarchitecture.”

ITstaffersworkedwithaMicrosoftpartnerexperiencedwith Microsoft Dynamics CRM to implement an on-premise deployment of the three modules: marketing, sales, and service.

The Trail Blazers’ data model makes Microsoft Dynamics CRM a bridge between the organization’s ticketing and sponsorship sales inventory systems. “Microsoft Dynamics CRM pushes and pulls data and contact information to these two systems to give our salespeopleascompleteaprofileandhistorypictureaspossible,”says Chris Cook, marketing manager for the Trail Blazers.

Additionally, the solution is being integrated with the organization’s Eloqua e-mail marketing application. “We use Eloqua to do permission marketing,” adds Cook. “Data sharing between it and Microsoft Dynamics CRM is critical, not only to select the appropriate recipients for communications, but also to tailor messaging that appeals to them.”

portland trail Blazers Slam Dunk Productivity Enhancements to Boost Ticket and Sponsorship Sales


“with Microsoft [dynamics] crM we have the right base tool in place to strengthen and grow our business.” Chris Dill, Vice President & CIO, The Portland Trail Blazers

coMpAnyThe Portland Trail Blazerswww.nba.com/blazers

verTIcAL IndusTryEntertainment


counTry/reGIonNorth America

sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM 4.0Windows Server 2003MicrosoftOffice2003MicrosoftExchangeServer2003Microsoft SQL Server 2005Windows XP

MIcrosofT pArTnerAscentium Corporationwww.ascentium.com

One key question that constantly faces Cook is how to increase revenues per customer. He notes, “Microsoft CRM can show ustendenciesandtrendsthatwillallowustomaximizeourrelationship with customers over time.”

TheTrailBlazersorganizationhasarelativelyfixedpopulationto market tickets to in the Portland area. As a result, a large percentage of sales result from up-sell opportunities, such as parking, food, beverages, or merchandise. “A lot of what we do is progressive selling,” says Cook. “If someone has season tickets, we can approach them with better seats as they become available, forexample.WithMicrosoftDynamicsCRMwehaveatoolthatempowers the sales staff to access the kind of information that allows them to be more proactive sellers.”

benefITsThesolutionhasenabledanumberofbenefitssuchassystemconnectivity, sales force automation, and enhanced productivity.

• SalesForceAutomationcontributestoproductivitygains:

>Theworkflowengineencodesprocessesthatallow managers to enforce consistent procedures and streamline the sales process.

> The organization has seen marked productivity gains from the full customer view Microsoft Dynamics CRM gives its salespeople.Forexample,theycanminethedataanduseitinreal time in their conversations with customers and prospects toimprovethecustomerexperience.

> The solution cuts down on the number of clicks and manual processes that the salespeople used to have to do to serve a customer or prospect. Shaving seconds off each of a salesperson’s 50–100 calls per day improves productivity.

• Mobiledatasharingstrengthenscustomerrelationships—Microsoft Dynamics CRM makes it easy for Dill’s team to push CRM data to employees’ hand-held devices during events, so that they can personalize their interactions with customers to increase the intimacy of the relationship with the Trail Blazers’ organization. Moreover, as historical customer data is collected, the company will be able to push tailored messages directly to customers’ devices at events.

• Easeofuseensuresenterprise-wideadoption—Thefeedbackfrom users has been positive. They adapted quickly to the familiar Microsoft look, feel, and screen navigation.

• Many-to-manyrelationshipsupportimprovesefficiency— The new solution handles multiple ownership situations on accounts in a native way. This prevents salespeople from steppingoneachother’stoesandpreventsinfightingovercommission issues.

• Scalabilityandflexibilityprotectsinvestmentagainstobsolescence—Theflexibility,extensibility,andintegrationcapabilities of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform means that Trail Blazers managers will be happy with this system far into the future.


HSTdevelopsandmarketsclinicalandfinancialmanagementsoftware applications for the healthcare industry in the United States. The creation of in-house applications resulted in separate datasilosforsales,marketing,finance,andoperations.Asthecompanygrew,thisledtooperationalinefficienciesthathamperedinterdepartmental communication and employee productivity. ManagersevaluatedsixCRMsolutionalternativesandchosetodeploy the Microsoft Dynamics CRM on-premise solution for marketing, sales, and customer service users. It met their criteria for asingledatarepositoryofcustomerinformation,OfficeOutlookintegration, ease-of-use, and tools to enhance productivity.

busIness needsLike most software development companies, managers made the decision to create their own sales and operations applications. While that served the company well 10 years ago, over time discrete data silos for sales, marketing, operations, and financialcontentwerecreated,hamperinginternalefficiencyandcommunication.Thesalesforce,forexample,neededtocommunicate with their service colleagues to ensure that a positivecustomerexperiencecontinuedafterthesale.Andthe service team needed to keep closer tabs on the status of outstanding issues. “In order to facilitate interdepartmental collaboration I knew that we needed to replace our legacy data silos with a centralized data source,” says Karlene Ochoa, vice president of operations for HST.

Thecompany’ssalesandservicepersonneluseMicrosoftOfficeOutlook heavily in their daily operations to close new sales and ensure customer satisfaction. These employees were also intimatelyfamiliarwiththeOfficeOutlookinterfacesoanynewsolution would need to integrate well with it.

soLuTIonCorporate managers began evaluating a number of alternatives. In addition to having a centralized database and seamless integrationwithOfficeOutlook,theywantedtooffertheirmobilesales force easy access to the CRM application. And they wanted to be able to quickly scale the number of users to 200. Based on these factors, managers selected the Microsoft Dynamics CRM on-premise solution.

The review process was made much easier because the company itself develops software applications for the healthcare industry. “We’re using the same tools that Microsoft developers used to createMicrosoft[Dynamics]CRM,”explainsOchoa.“Wefeltthatwehadtheexpertiseandexperiencetoapplyanin-depthanalysistowhetherthesolutionwouldfitwellinourenvironment.Inourexperience,thebackend,middletier,andGUIwillmakeorbreak an application if you want to scale it. The Microsoft solution passed those tests.”

Another reason for favoring the solution was that MicrosoftDynamicsCRM“allowsmoreconfigurationthanmostproductsinthefieldrightnow,”saysOchoa.“We’reinserting dataelementsonourpagesthatincludeinformationspecificto ourindustry.Thatwasveryeasytodorightoutofthebox.”

The company has a very mobile sales force that is looking to leverage the remote capabilities of the application. “Our salespeople love their laptops and we wanted to ensure they hadonlineandofflineaccesstodata,”explainsOchoa.“With Microsoft [Dynamics] CRMthey now have access to a real-time status portal with information on customers, prospects and referrals.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a Perfect Prescription for Healing Productivity Ills for hst


coMpAnyHSTwww.hstpathways.com

verTIcAL IndusTryHealthcare

seGMenTSmall Business—15 employees


sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM 4.0Windows Server 2003MicrosoftOffice2003/2007MicrosoftExchangeServer2003Microsoft SQL Server 2005Windows XP and Windows Vista


“we use the very tools to develop our own software that Microsoft used to create Microsoft [dynamics] crM. That helped us evaluate the many solutions we considered and choose Microsoft as the best solution for our company.” Karlene Ochoa, Vice President of Operations, HST

ThenewsolutionreplacedvolumesofOfficeExcelspreadsheets,which sales reps had to manually reconcile each week. Time spent on this administrative task cut into time spent with prospects and customers. “A lot of our data was sitting on C drives versus a centralized location and that made version control impossible,” remarks Ochoa. “It took many hours per week per sales person to update the information, assuming everyone did what they were supposed to do.”

Marketers are using the marketing module to compile distribution listsbasedonspecificcriteriafornewsletters,faxes,directmail,and phone calls. “The marketing module makes it very easy to set up,trackandtabulateresultsforcampaigns,”explainsOchoa.“Wecould have done that with our legacy systems but it would have beentimeprohibitivetoextract,collect,andtrackthatdata.”

The use of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM service module is just as vital to the company. “We have clients who call for software support,” says Ochoa. “The service module generates case numbers and tracks an issue until it’s resolved. That gives us and our customers theconfidencethatthingsarebeinghandled.Ourveteranhelp-desk people have adapted quickly to the service module and to date I literally haven’t had one complaint from them about it.”

benefITsBy leveraging the marketing, sales, and service modules of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the company’s managers have been abletogarneranumberofspecificbenefits.

• Centralizeddatarepository—Thesolutionprovidesasinglelocation for customer data that may be accessed for sales, service, operations,finance,andmarketingactivities.Thishaseliminatedthe severe data silo problem managers previously grappled with.

• Visibilityintoaccountstocapturemoresales—Thesolutiongave managers visibility into account data that allowed them to identify a marketing gap. The company had been ignoring new construction medical center prospects. Sales personnel are now working this segment, which represents an estimated $1 million in potential revenues.

• Workflowsboostemployeeproductivity—Managerssetupaworkflowthatautomaticallycreatesanopportunityandassignsit to a person for follow-up. The legacy manual process took 10 minutes to complete this task but the automated process takes less than a second.

• Enhancedcustomersatisfaction—Trackingandreportingonservice issues resolves them faster. Moreover, service issue data can be aggregated to support the development of best practices to further the company’s service reputation in the industry.

• Minimalcustomizationandeaseofmaintenancesavedevelopmentcosts—“Theout-of-the-boxCRMapplicationissoeasytoconfigurethatIcallit‘tailorization’versuswhatpeoplenormallyassociatewithcostlycustomization,”explainsOchoa.“We can do that in house with minimal effort.”

• 360-degreeaccountviewenablesinterdepartmentalcollaboration—Now that account data can be accessed in a single location, employees across departments can review, and act upon, all the data associated with a customer.

• Easeofuse—TheapplicationisbasedonafamiliarMicrosoftplatform that is very intuitive. Thus, user adoption is high while training time is minimal.


coMpAnyING Groep N.V.www.ing.com

verTIcAL IndusTryFinancial Services

seGMenTLarge Business—about 119,000 employees

counTry/reGIonGlobal

sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM 4.0Windows Server 2003MicrosoftOffice2003Microsoft SQL Server 2005Windows XP

MIcrosofT pArTnerMicrosoft Serviceswww.microsoft.com

“Microsoft dynamics crM will be the tool we’ll use to reach out to the entire vendor management community at ING. It will give us a significant advantage in how we effectively manage internal and external relationships to perform world-class procurement and vendor management across the globe.” Fred Teekens, Category and Asset Manager, ING Global Vendor Management

sITuATIonINGGroepN.V.(AEX:ING)isaglobal-20financialservicescompany.Thefirm’smanagersworkwithamyriadofvendorstosustainannualrevenuesexceeding€73billion.Thecompany’sGlobalVendorManagement(GVM)divisionsourcesandensurestheconsistencyandqualityof vendor performance on behalf of ING business units and their management. “We needed a central repository of information about the vendors we track and negotiate with,” says Fred Teekens, category and asset manager at ING Global Vendor Management. “And we needed anapplicationthatcouldautomateworkflowstostandardizecontract-relatedprocessesandensurethattheyalignedwiththeservicesthatemployees are actually using.”

soLuTIon“Originally,weconsideredERPsolutionstosupportourprocessesforourGroup,”explainsTeekens.“Butasweevaluatedworkflows,wefoundthat the Microsoft [Dynamics] CRM application matched our agile processes better than any of the others.” Making the decision easier was the fact that other departments had already successfully implemented earlier versions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. “There were a number of featuresinthenew[MicrosoftDynamics]CRM4.0thatwereveryattractivetous,”saysTeekens.“Welikedbeingabletoconfigureworkflowstotriggeractivitiesandperson-specifictasks.Andwithapresenceinover50countries,themulti-tenancyandmulti-lingualcapabilitiesfoster better collaboration.”

benefITsWhen GVM launches Microsoft Dynamics CRM, it will be used by 200 key managers company-wide. “They’ll be able to submit a vendor requestalongwithabusinesscasetous,”explainsTeekens.“We’lluse[MicrosoftDynamics]CRMtomanageourrelationshipswithvendorsand be in a position to recommend quality companies that meet their criteria.” Moreover, Microsoft Dynamics CRM will enable a feedback mechanism by which employees may rate the solutions implemented. “That will allow us to get a picture of a vendor who may do a perfect job in one part of the world but a lousy job in another,” adds Teekens.

Ing Invests in the Future with Microsoft Dynamics CRM to Yield More Effective Management for Vendors Worldwide


coMpAnyMADA Communication Co.www.mada.com.kw

verTIcAL IndusTryTelecommunications

seGMenTSmall Business-40 employees

counTry/reGIonKuwait

sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM 4.0Windows Server 2003MicrosoftOffice2003MicrosoftExchangeServer2003Microsoft SQL Server 2005Windows XP Professional

MIcrosofT pArTnerBlueLink Solutionswww.i-bluelink.net

“Microsoft dynamics crM will be a key tool in helping us meet our sales, support, and marketing growth objectives throughout the Middle east and Africa.” Shahad Ibrahim, Director of Sales and Marketing, MADA Communication Co.

sITuATIonKuwait-based MADA Communication Co. provides wireless data and Internet services to private businesses, governmental agencies, and individuals.Thecompanyisgrowingfast,andexecutivesareapplyingtechnologytohelpitmorequicklypenetrateMiddle-EasternandAfrican markets. “We needed to replace our homegrown CRM application with a more robust solution that could support multi-tenancy and multi-currency capabilities, along with the growth in our customer base,” says Shahad Ibrahim, director of sales and marketing for MADA Communications Co. “And we wanted to ensure high service levels by leveraging CRM data across our enterprise to include our service department as well as sales and marketing.”

soLuTIonMADAmanagersevaluatedresponsestoitsCRMrequestforproposal.“Wefeltthatthemulti-tenancy,multi-currency,andworkflowfeaturesinMicrosoft[Dynamics]CRMfitourbusinessmodelandgrowthplansthebest,”explainsIbrahim.“Werolledoutthesalesandservicemodulesto25usersfirst,thenthemarketingmoduleinthefollowingquarter.”GiventhatmembersofMADA’ssalesstaffspendmostoftheirtimeontheroad,they’llbeheavyusersofMicrosoftDynamicsCRMofflinereportingandMicrosoftOfficeOutlookofflinebackground synching capabilities.

benefITsIbrahim acknowledges that in the commoditized world of telecommunications, superior customer service is critical to differentiating the company from competitors. “The ultimate goal of implementing Microsoft [Dynamics] CRM is to enhance the quality of the service we offercustomers,”explainsIbrahim.“Thatallowsustoofferbetterservice-levelagreementsanddeliveruponthem.”Additionally,dueto the collaboration-supporting functionality of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, managers believe they can shorten their sales cycle to generate more sales.

mada Communication Co. (FormallyArabTelecomCo.)Selects Microsoft Dynamics CRM to Drive Marketing, Sales and Support Activities


The Linc Group is an international company operating in 45 statesandsixcountries.Its249physicallocationsplus138franchise locations provide infrastructure and technical services to commercial/industrial facility clients. As a service business, building a book of clients through prospecting, as well as retaining current customers, are key to the company’s long-term success. Tooptimizethesuccessofcompanyandfranchiseeoffices,thefirmimplementedMicrosoftDynamicsCRMversion1.2andmostrecently 3.0. When the latest version became available, managers gave it a hard look. Factors that convinced them to upgrade includedenhancedworkflowfeatures,andthenewmulti-tenancy,multi-language, and multi-currency capabilities.

busIness needsThe Linc Group’s 3,600 employees serve the infrastructure and technical service needs of commercial/industrial facilities customerssuchaseducational,manufacturing,andofficefacilities.Operating under the philosophy that providing service locally is themostefficientandcustomer-satisfyingdeliverymodel,thecompany has established 249 physical branches in 45 states and sixcountries.Thisbusinessmodelhasbeenverysuccessful.Somuchsothatthefirmhaslicenseditto138franchisees.

Tobuildlucrativebusinesses,officemanagershavefocusedheavilyon locating new business and retaining the clients they have. “Our revenues depend on the relationships we have with customers,” saysGregLush,CIOforTheLincGroup.“Thereareafinitenumberofpeopleinanygeographicareasoourofficesneedtooptimizetheir touches, whether it’s with a customer or a prospect.”

soLuTIonThat reality led managers to implement an on-premise CRM solution. They ruled out the Siebel CRM alternative as being too complicated for their user base. That resulted in the selection and deployment of Microsoft Dynamics CRM version 3.0. “One of the huge selling points of Microsoft [Dynamics] CRM is that it nests withintheOfficeOutlookclient,”recallsLush.“ThatgivesusauserexperiencethatisveryfamiliartoourMicrosoftapplicationusers.”

When the latest version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM became available, managers evaluated it against their future needs. This led them to upgrade to the latest version of the solution. “The learningcurvetoupgradefrom3.0isn’tthatbig,”explainsLush.“Wealsolikedthatenduserscouldconfigureworkflowsandthat multi-tenancy was available to allow us to operate a single instance of the application.”

Tocaptureoperationalefficiencies,thecompanyprovides ITresourcescentrallytoitscorporateandfranchiseeoffices.Initially, managers rolled out Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 and madeitavailabletoU.S.-basedoffices.Withthemulti-tenancy,multi-language, multi-currency features available in version 4.0,thefirmwillextendtheimplementationofthesolutiontointernational locations.

“We consider CRM to be a core competency for our business and have developed a multi-year deployment strategy to integrate it moredeeplyinourcorporateculture,”explainsLush.“Wewillmakeuse of the multi-language and multi-currency features in places like Iraq, where we provide support services to the Department of Defense and Department of State. Local employees will need to use Microsoft Dynamics CRM in their own language and currencies to support our operations in Korea, Egypt, and Europe as well.”

Multinational Building Company Links Up with Microsoft Dynamics CRM toImproveWorkflowandFacilitateFocusonCustomer-centricService


coMpAnyThe Linc Groupwww.thelincgroup.com

verTIcAL IndusTryHVAC Facility Services

seGMenTLarge Business


sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM 4.0Windows Server 2003MicrosoftOffice2003and2007MicrosoftExchangeServer2003Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and 2005Windows XP

MIcrosofT pArTnerHitachi Consultingwww.hitachiconsulting.com

“The true value of Microsoft [dynamics] crM is about how successful the tool can make employees in their jobs.” Greg Lush, Chief Information Officer, The Linc Group

The company is using Microsoft Dynamics CRM to improve the performance of managers and employees. “The reporting capabilities allow managers to cross-check recorded activities against what their salespeople are telling them,” says Lush. “The purpose is not to baby-sit our employees but rather to hold themaccountableagainstspecificobjectives.Whenyoutieinworkflowstoprovideautomatedprospecting,follow-up,andaccountretentionactivities,youhaveanextremelypowerful tool to help them perform better.”

Lush’s team will make full use of the marketing, sales, and service modulefunctionalityavailableinthesolution.Branchofficemanagers will use the marketing module to implement marketing campaigns.“Ourbusinesshasmanyseasonalactivities,”explainsLush.“So,forexample,inthefall,officemanagerswillbeabletocreatemarketingliststosendouta‘getreadyforwinter’mailer. They’ll use the automation features to create reminders throughout the year for similar campaigns.”

Employees use the service module to manage work orders of subcontractors the company hires to provide building service and maintenance.

benefITsThe multi-tenancy features of the solution allow The Linc Group totailortheCRMexperienceforeachofitsofficesandfranchiseesaround the world.

• Multi-currency,multi-languagecapabilitiesfacilitateglobalexpansion—“Sellingtothegovernmentisdifferentthanbusiness-to-business sales,” says Lush. “An opportunity plus developing relationships add up to sales.

• ThenewMicrosoft[Dynamics]CRMfeatureswillallowustobeas effective overseas for our government clients as we’ve been with the solution here at home.”

• Extendableplatformprovidestooltointegratefullywithcorporate systems—“Microsoft Dynamics CRM is so open and flexiblethatitcaneasilyconnecttoourothersystems,”explainsLush. “I think Microsoft intended it to be a platform as much as an application and it shows like that. We can really start to highly integrate it with Microsoft SharePoint® and Microsoft Dynamics AX and our data warehouse.”

• Workflowshelpimproveproductivity—“Thesolutiongivesvisibility into what our salespeople are doing,” states Lush. “That motivates our people to enter data into the system. Now weveryeasilyuseMicrosoft[Dynamics]CRMtohookworkflowsinto that to provide a tool so they can work a proven system. They visit a prospect, for instance, and enter the results into Microsoft Dynamics CRM, which automatically schedules a templated e-mail to be sent in three days for follow-up. By automating a lot of the follow-up, they can give a personal touchtoourservices.Andexpandourbusinesswhileretainingmore customers.”

• MicrosoftDynamicsCRMshiftsfocustocustomers—“Becausethe services we provide are intangible, our business comes down to how well we can engage with and stay in touch with our customers,” says Lush. “Microsoft [Dynamics] CRM delivers the customer-centric view we need to be very successful. The dashboardfeature,forexample,putsthefocusonopportunities,quotes,andservice.Ithelpsstripawaythe‘what’sinmyinboxtodeal with’ mentality to center proactively on what we should be doing to grow our business and better server our clients.”


This Canadian company is a wholesale distributor of plumbing, heating, and industrial materials. Employees at 22 locations serve the needs of residential, commercial, and industrial contractors. Allegiances can shift among these clients and sales can go to competitors if personnel don’t keep a close eye on their business relationships. However, the company lacked a comprehensive CRM tool to achieve this. Customer data resided with individuals intheirheads,Rolodexes,andfiles.Collaborationbetweensalesandcustomerservicegroupswasinefficient,relyingupon e-mail and phone communications. And while corporate systems collected and hosted critical client product-purchase history, fullaccountprofilesandcustomeractivityhistorywasbeing lost. To address these challenges, managers standardized on Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live.

busIness needsNoble Trade is a wholesale distributor of plumbing, heating, and industrial materials to residential, commercial, and industrial contractors.TheCanadianfirmhas19locations.Twokeyfactorscontribute to the success of capturing and keeping clients: service andpricing.Asdedicatedasthefirm’s317employeesare,therewerelimitstotheefficiencythatsalesandservicepersonnelcouldachieve with manual tools.

At the system level, the company lacked a viable CRM solution. Customer data resided on users’ local hard drives and in their heads. Communications by e-mail and phone between sales and servicepeoplewereinefficient.Lackinganysalesforceautomationtools,thefirm’ssalespeopleweresubjecttomanualprocesses.“Wewanted to streamline the passing on of information from outside salestoinsidesales,”explainsDebThornton,CRMimplementationspecialist for Noble Trade. “There was no consistent method of task assignment and follow-up, sometimes causing the duplication

ofefforts.Werecognizedtheneedtoimplementworkflowsforsales and service activities.”

With no CRM system in place, salespeople also lacked visibility into critical customer activity and purchase history data. Legacy toolsmadeproactivelyaccessingandusingpurchasedatadifficult.This in turn limited salespeople’s ability to identify trends that could help them increase sales or counter competitors’ inroads.

soLuTIonCompany managers began their research of a CRM solution by reviewing white papers. This led to phone interviews and demonstrationsofsixalternatives.Fromthese,theynarrowedthem down to Sage CRM, Salesforce.com, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live and completed a hands-on evaluation of each.

Reviewers considered several key criteria in their selection process. The ease-of-use of the application was important to managers because they recognized that if a CRM solution was cumbersome their salespeople would reject it. The second criterion was full functionality.“Wewantedtousethesolutionoutoftheboxtosupport marketing, sales, and service systems,” says Thornton. Managersalsowantedtouseworkflowstostreamlineandautomate processes for their sales and services departments.

From an IT perspective, managers mandated a hosted solution so that the company’s IT resources would not be burdened. Moreover,thefinalCRMchoicewouldneedtofitwiththefirm’sMicrosoftOfficeOutlookandMicrosoftOfficeplatforms.Whenmanagersfinishedweighingtheoptionsagainsttheserequirements, they selected Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live.

noble trade Builds Employee Productivity and Customer Satisfaction with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live


coMpAnyNoble Tradewww.nobletrade.ca

verTIcAL IndusTryWholesale plumbing, heating, indus-trial materials supplier

seGMenTSmall Business—over 300 employees


sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM LiveWindows Server 2000/2003MicrosoftOffice2003MicrosoftExchangeServer2003Microsoft SQL Server 2000, upgrading to 2005Windows XP

MIcrosofT pArTnerBrodie Computes Inc.www.brodie.com

“The full marketing, sales, and service functionality in Microsoft [dynamics] crM [Live] ensures that we cover all the bases with our customers to increase our retention rate.” Deb Thornton, CRM Implementation Specialist, Noble Trade

The solution implementation will follow a phased timetable, beginning with the use of the sales module followed by the rollout of marketing and service functionality. “We’re customizing anaccountprofiletabtoutilizeonlyfieldsthatwewantoursalespeopletoseeandfillout,”remarksThornton.

“Wedon’thaveatypicalsalespipeline,”explainsThornton.“Ourclients are repeat customers and we created a one-year sales cycle to service those accounts. That includes things like frequent segment and commodity reviews to ensure we’re in sync with the market and retain customers. We’ll use Microsoft [Dynamics] CRM to automate reminders and activities for each of the touchpoints throughout the year.”

Overthenext12months,Thorntonseesthecompany’suserbasegrowing to as many as 50 people, with 80 percent of licenses dedicated to salespeople and 20 percent to management and administration personnel. Additionally the multi-lingual, multi-currency capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics CRM dovetails nicely withthefirm’scorporateheadquartersinQuebec.

Executivesplantointegratethenewsolutionwiththecompany’svery robust project quotation software application as well as access data stored in an SQL Server database.

benefITsMicrosoft Dynamics CRM Live solves Noble Trade’s major CRM challenges and delivers a single platform to drive sales and service productivity and collaboration.

• Newsolutionfuelseasyaccessto,anduseof,trendingdatato retain customers—Salespeople can create ad hoc reports that access customer history data in the company’s SQL Server database to identify trends. By gaining granular visibility into account purchases, they can respond more quickly to changes in the marketplace and proactively engage customers.

• Salesforceautomationtoolsenforcebestpracticesandincrease productivity—With Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live, non-programmer managers can place their best practices into workflows.Forexample,workflowswillprovideautomatedtasksand reminders throughout the year for each touchpoint in the firm’sannualsalescycle.Thisdeliversconsistentsalesactivityacross the sales force using the company’s proven process.

• TheMicrosoftDynamicsCRMhostedimplementationsidesteps the use of internal IT resources and provides a standardized platform for the enterprise—Managers avoid solution implementation delays by not having to get on their IT department’sprojectlist.Asthefirmacquiresnewcompaniesandexperiencesfurtherorganicgrowth,thenewsolutionwill prevent the proliferation of data silos by providing a standardized CRM platform for new employees.

• Salesandservicecollaborationincreasescustomersatisfaction—By centrally storing account data, sales and service employees can access it so that they interact intelligently with customers. Salespeople can engage customers while being fully aware of service issues. Moreover, they’ll be more targeted in their sales activities by knowing what stage a construction project is in—andaccordinglywhatspecificproductscustomerswillneed.


“we selected Microsoft dynamics crM Live because it’s easy to use and we could deploy it without using our IT resources.” Annie Suarez, Marketing Coordinator, Doosan Heavy Industries America Corp.

coMpAnyDoosan Heavy Industries America Corporationwww.doosan.com

verTIcAL IndusTryEngineering Products and Services



sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM LiveMicrosoftOffice2003Windows XP

MIcrosofT pArTnerAppSolute Consulting Group, LLCwww.appsolute.com

sITuATIonThis industrial company provides infrastructure-development services, boilers, and parts primarily to the power industry in North America.Marketersatthecompany’sNewJerseyofficewantedtoimplementaCRMtooltoenhancetheirproductivitybeyondwhatMicrosoftOfficeOutlookalonecouldprovide.Contactandcustomerdataresidedonlocalharddrives.Moreover,“Eachofushada different version of our project information,” says Annie Suarez, marketing coordinator for Doosan in New Jersey. “And that caused problems. If we’re not up to speed on a project we can lose a $2 million contract.”

soLuTIonManagers narrowed their search for a CRM solution down to Salesforce.com and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live. “We chose MicrosoftDynamicsCRMLivebecauseitfullyintegrateswithOfficeOutlookandourotherOfficeapplications,”recallsSuarez. “It’seasyfornon-technicalpeopletouse,thepricewasright,andtheLiveversiondoesn’tplaceanITburdenonouroffice.”

Suarez’steameasilytailoredandaddedmanyfieldsrelatedtotheirindustry,fromplantmegawattsizeavailablethroughsimple drop-down lists to project information data. They also customized the way opportunities are handled to match the company’s processesandsetupaworkflowthatnotifiesdesignatedemployeeswhenaprojecthasbeenupdated.

benefITsThe new solution met the company’s need for a centralized repository of CRM data. Suarez used Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live to create a libraryofDoosanfilesthatemployeescanuse,includingmeetingnotesandmarketresearchreports.“Ourcontactandprojectdataiswellorganizedandeasyformetosearchandfindfilesratherthanrummagingaroundmycomputer,”notesSuarez.“We’llbeabletotrackeveryprojectwe’rebiddingonnowandupdateandaccessprojectinformationquickly.Havingasingleplaceforallourfilesensuresweallhaveaccess to one version of our project data.”

doosan heavy Industries america Corporation Equips to Win More Business with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live


coMpAnyMicrosoftwww.microsoft.com

verTIcAL IndusTrySoftware


counTry/reGIonNorth AmericaAPACEMEALATAM

sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM 4.0Windows Server 2003R2 – 64bitMicrosoftOffice2007ProfessionalMicrosoftExchangeServer2007EnterpriseMicrosoft SQL Server 2005 EnterpriseWindows XP SP2 and Windows VistaMicrosoft BizTalk® Server 2006Microsoft .NET Framework v3.5

“The Microsoft Dynamics CRM workflow and multi-language features will help us markedly improve upon our key service metrics to deliver a significant return on our investment.” Brett Dean, Principal Solutions Manager, Microsoft

sITuATIonMorethansixthousandMicrosoftCommercialServiceandSupport(CSS)representativesfield1.2millionservicerequestsperyear.Many ofthesearecomplexissuesfromsavvytechnologyusersandrepeatcallers.CSSrepresentativeshavebeenusinga12-yearoldlegacy Clarifysystemtoprovidesupportandrecentlybeganexploringwaystoimprovecustomersatisfactionandshortenissueresolutiontimes.The Clarify solution required seven instances to support commercial service activities globally. This resulted in separate data silos that madeitdifficulttoshareinformationamongagentsandmanagers.Thelegacyplatformalsolackedthemulti-languagecapabilitiesthatdivisionexecutivesneededtosupportthecompany’sgloballanguagesupportandservicesmodel.Thesechallengesledmanagerstoseek a platform that would help Microsoft provide even more effective support to customers anywhere, at any time.

soLuTIonManagers applied a very formal selection process based on their business drivers and technical criteria. “We needed a platform that was extensible,wouldintegrateeasilywithothersystemsinourenvironment,includedrobustworkflowcapabilitiesandcouldsupportour global 24/7 operations,” says Brett Dean, principal solutions manager for Microsoft. “We selected Microsoft Dynamics CRM over the SAP CRM solution we put it up against for these reasons and because we could bring it to market much faster.” Managers will use the multi-tenancy features of the new solution to consolidate seven instances of their service support database down to one. Moreover, they’ll utilize the multi-language capability to support worldwide service operations.

benefITsThe solution’s multi-tenancy feature allows IT managers to implement and use a single CRM platform. In turn, employees across the enterprise will gain a global view of customers. “The multi-language feature allows us to provide more effective service to multinational companiesbyempoweringservicepersonneltospeaktocustomersintheirownlanguagefromthefirstcallthroughresolution,”explainsDean.Byintroducingbest-practicesworkflowsintandemwithin-languagesupport,Deanexpectsserviceagentproductivityandeffectivenesstoincreasemarkedly.FromanITperspective,“Theplatformissoflexibleandextensiblethatwecaneasilyachieveatleast 12 integration points with other systems and applications inside Microsoft,” says Dean.

microsoft Employs Single CRM Platform to Build One of the World’s Largest Multi-language Service Solutions


TheCaliforniaTeachersAssociation(CTA)serves350,000members. It provides a full range of offerings, including the improvement of teaching conditions, representation in the political arena, insurance, and education-oriented publications. The IT environment tosupportthesemembersiscomplexandhighlyintegrated. A CRM platform has been an essential building block of that environment,integratingwithMicrosoftOfficeSharePointandMicrosoftOffice2007amongotherheterogeneousapplications. Managers issued an RFP and selected Microsoft Dynamics CRM from a short list of four alternatives. The solution ensures the accurate dissemination of member data and allows marketers to mine and integrate data across other systems in the enterprise.

busIness needsThe California Teachers Association is very large, with 700 employees and 350,000 education professionals across the state. Signing up new members and retaining current ones are critical activities to the success of the association. These functions rely uponacomplexITenvironmenttocaptureandmanipulatedata.“Our whole system is centered on our membership base,” says Thames Kral, CIO for the CTA. “We have a panoply of systems that combine to capture, move around, and push data to our members and employees.”

These systems include the heavy use of Microsoft SharePoint Server to provide a clearinghouse for electronic documents. Another key platform is the Microsoft Identity Integration Server that stores and integrates membership identity information for the association. As the environment grew, managers decided that it was time to add a CRM solution to better serve its large membership base.

soLuTIonIT managers broke down their CRM solution alternatives into three groups.Thefirstgroupconsistedofapplicationsspecificallybuiltfor associations. “There are probably 100 decent membership-trackingapplicationsoutthere,”explainsKral.Thesecondcategorywas to build a platform in house. “We could have built the hooks we wanted and written the integration engines ourselves,” says Kral. The third alternative was Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

With a list of potential applications in hand, decision makers ran aninternalexercise.StatesKral,“Weaskedourselves,‘Iftherewasan ideal platform out there, what would it look like?’ That formed the basis for our requirements.” At the top of the criteria list was ahighlyflexibleCRMsolutionthatcouldintegratewellwiththeCTA’smanyexistingsystems,includingMicrosoftOffice.AlsoonthelistwasextensibilitysothatCTAprogrammerscouldeasilybuild upon the system over time to add more functionality that would in turn increase the association’s value to members.

California teachers association LearnsLesson(s)asServiceImprovesFor350,000 Members—with Microsoft Dynamics CRM


coMpAnyCalifornia Teachers Associationwww.cta.org

verTIcAL IndusTryProfessional organization



sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM 4.0Windows Server 2003MicrosoftOffice2007MicrosoftExchangeServer2003Microsoft SQL Server 2005Windows XP SP2MicrosoftOfficeSharePointServer2007Microsoft BizTalk 2006-R2MIIS 2003

MIcrosofT pArTnerAllin Consultingwww.allin.com

“Microsoft [Dynamics] CRM is a core application to significantly enhance our relationships with, and service to, our 350,000 members.” Thames Kral, CIO, California Teachers Association

With 350,000 members to keep happy, the selection of a CRM solution was a serious matter. “The reason we bet on Microsoft is that we feel they are doing the right thing in the industry,” notesKral.“Theirunificationstrategyisspot-on.Tome,they’re the player you can count on to be there long term.”

ThatstrategywasadriverincreatingaflexibleCRMplatform.“One of the reasons that we went with Microsoft [Dynamics] CRM versus the other alternatives we considered is that it will be a lot lessexpensiveandsignificantlymoreefficienttobuilduponandsupport it going forward,” recalls Kral. “You can have the best build out in the world but if you can’t maintain it easily you’re deadinsixmonths.WeespeciallyliketheflexibilityoftheMicrosoft [Dynamics] CRM platform that we’re upgrading to now.” In fact, the migration from 3.0 to 4.0 has been so smooth that Kral has already scheduled follow-on projects to take place once this phase is complete.

benefITsMicrosoft Dynamics CRM is a core platform CTA needs to provide a 360-degree view of its 350,000 members.

• Memberdatarepositoryprovidesakeycomponentoftheassociation’s environment—“When we pull up a member, based on membership status and security, we’re able to see everything about them, whether they’re active on the political side of our association, the claims side or some other area,” says Kral. “CRM is a key system contributing data to our single view of the entire system. For an organization where its entire livelihood revolves around members, that’s critical.”

• Singleviewofthetruthensurestrust,contributestoretention —“It doesn’t matter whether we’re sending information to a PDA or a CRM screen or a membership screen in a different system, the beautiful thing is that they are all displaying the same pieces of information coming from a central location,” explainsKral.“Wecan’thaveanapplicationdisplayingincorrectbenefitinformationbecauseitstartsaforestfire.CRMhelpsusachieve a high level of accuracy that maintains our credibility with members.”

• CRMsolutiondeliversproductivity-enhancingtools— When employees from different departments update a member’s record, data is recorded to the same spot within Microsoft Dynamics CRM. “We don’t have different people keying in information three times,” says Kral. “We’re going to go paperless through integration with SharePoint. Employees will be able to access electronic insurance documents from their desktop,forexample,versushavingtowalktothreedifferentfilingcabinets.Thatwillbeatimesaver,andprovideahigherlevel of service.”


Thecompany’s3,000financialadvisorsspecializeinhelpingclients preserve and protect their wealth. Two thousand of these advisors are independent contractors working out of their own offices.Buildingandmaintainingtrustwithclientsisessentialtosuccessfully growing their practices. Hence, advisors adopted a wide array of CRM tools to help them achieve this goal. As a result, the company had no uniform means to document and access customerdata.Moreover,thecompanyhaddifficultyprovidingglobal support to its advisors because it lacked a viable tool to codify and distribute best-practice processes. To overcome these challenges, managers chose Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

busIness needsRaymondJamesreliesuponamixofemployeesandindependentcontractorstoserveasfinancialadvisors.Eachoneofthemruns their own practice, which includes prospecting, serving, and retaining clients. Because establishing and strengthening relationships are so critical to differentiating themselves, the use of discrete contact databases was commonplace. These were a heterogeneousmixofapplicationsincludingACT!,GoldMine, and Juncture CRM.

“Thefinancialadvisorshadnouniformwaytoenterdata,” recalls Shawn Tabor, technology product manager for CRM at Raymond James Financial. “We had no way to assist them with regulatory procedures and compliance issues. And we had difficultydistributingbestpracticestosuchadisparategroupthroughourexistingtools.”

That led company managers to search for a CRM platform that could address these issues as well as allow independent contractorstheflexibilitytocustomizeittosuittheir business needs.

soLuTIonTabor played a central role in the search for a CRM solution. “We used a formal RFP [request for proposal] process and looked at14differentfirms.”Fromthere,theCRMteamwhittledthechoicestotwo,SalesLogixandMicrosoftDynamicsCRM.“We had a bakeoff between the two with 4,000 of our users and they chose Microsoft Dynamics CRM overwhelmingly,” says Tabor. “They likedhowitintegratedwithOfficeOutlook,theirmaindailyworktool. And they loved the interface, which requires very little time to master.”

The solution’s ease of integration earned favor among IT personnel too. “Microsoft [Dynamics] CRM allows us to provide a single platform to thousands of our independent contractors while leveraging our .NET infrastructure and other Microsoft platforms likeSharePoint,”explainsTabor.

The company initially deployed Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 but is now upgrading to Microsoft Dynamics CRM. “We’ll be using themulti-tenancyfeaturetoimplementourbranch-officeCRMinitiative,”saysTabor.“Thatwillreduceourhardwareexpendituresbyplacingmultipleinstancesononeboxandhelpusgainefficienciesbyleveragingtheintegrationbetweeninstances.”

CRM specialists will roll out the marketing module’s functionality to advisors in a later implementation phase. “We’ll use it to developappropriatemarketingcampaignsforspecificproductsbased on zIP codes and socioeconomic data,” states Tabor.

The Microsoft Dynamics CRM sales module will be integral to the overallfinancialadvisoryprocess.“Itwillprovideaneffectivetoolto guide our advisors in managing their client relations, doing effectivefollow-up,andprovidingreminders,”explainsTabor.

raymond James Financial Reaps Dividends from Investment in Enterprise-wide Microsoft Dynamics CRM Solution


coMpAnyRaymond James Financialwww.raymondjames.com

verTIcAL IndusTryFinancial Services



sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM 4.0Windows Server 2003MicrosoftOffice2003/2007MicrosoftExchangeServer2003Microsoft SQL Server 2005Windows XP

MIcrosofT pArTnerMicrosoftwww.microsoft.com

“Microsoft [dynamics] crM will help us increase our advisors’ touch points with their customers and allow us to push best-practices workflows to them to improve their effectiveness.” Shawn Tabor, Technology Product Manager for CRM, Raymond James Financial

The company will use the service module to handle customer issues.Branchofficeuserscancreatetheirownincidentandtrackits progress. “They’ll be able to proactively use that information in Microsoft [Dynamics] CRM, rather than reactively waiting on the legacy process to receive an e-mail or phone call,” offers Tabor. “That will provide a win-win for the advisor and the client.”

Todate,Taborhasextensivelytestedtheworkflowsin Microsoft Dynamics CRM. “It is so much more user-friendly on the technical level that users can create and administer them without the help of programmers. I could tell immediately that it was more robust and functional than the previous version.”

benefITsMicrosoftDynamicsCRMprovidesthefeatures,flexibility,andcustomerdetailtooptimizetheeffectivenessoffinancialadvisorsin deepening and capitalizing on their relationships with prospects and customers.

• AstandardizedCRMplatformiscost-effectiveandefficient:

> The solution’s multi-tenancy feature allows Raymond James IT managers to implement its use across diverse user populationswithminimalcapitalexpensesandongoingmaintenance.

>Thecompanybenefitsbyprovidingacost-effective,centrallyhostedandaccessedCRMsolution.Advisorsbenefit,byaccessing a robust CRM solution that allows them to tailor theapplicationtosuittheirtastes,experience,andcompetitive advantages.

• Thecreationofabest-practicesworkflowlibraryraises advisorperformance—Managerswillimplementworkflowautomation to eliminate administrivia and ensure that advisors of all skill levels can take advantage of best practices. Microsoft Dynamics CRM allows nonprogrammers to easily buildaworkflowlibrarythatadvisorscanthenmodifyontheirown to suit their business needs. So the newest advisor can use the same best practices that highly successful advisors use. Distributing those tools across the advisor population will boost the overall performance of that group.

• Asuperiortooltobuildbetterrelationshipswithclients:

> Through the solution’s marketing and sales module automation features, advisors will be able to increase the number of tailored touches they have with clients without burying them under administrative work.

> Raymond James marketers will use the solution to develop tailoredmarketingcampaignsforspecificfinancialproductsand provide advisors parameters to create highly targeted marketing lists. With marketing personnel providing the campaign strategy and planning, advisors can focus on the executionofthoseplans.


coMpAnyHeidtman Steel Productswww.heidtman.com

verTIcAL IndusTrySteel processing and sales

seGMenTMedium Business-850 employees


sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 (partner-hosteddeployment)Windows Server 2003 Standard and EnterpriseMicrosoftOfficeXP,2000,2002,2003 and 2007 Professional EditionsMicrosoftExchangeServer2003EnterpriseMicrosoft SQL Server 2000 and 2005, Standard and Enterprise EditionsWindows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Vista

MIcrosofT pArTnerAxonomwww.axonom.com

“Microsoft [Dynamics] CRM has definitely delivered the customer data visibility we needed in our company to increase our efficiency and effectiveness in landing new business.” Mike Kruse, Vice President of Marketing, Heidtman Steel Products

sITuATIonThecompany’s850employeesworkoutofeightlocationsinfivestates.Thefirm’sthreeoperatingdivisionslackedvisibilityintotheactivities of each other. “This prevented us from effectively coordinating our efforts to win business while adding the risk that one division might underbid a sister division on a contract,” says Mike Kruse, vice president of marketing at Heidtman Steel Products. This problem was compoundedbysalespeoplewhoinefficientlyusedindividualorpapersystemstomanagetheircontactsandsalesprocesses.Thisledtoadisjointed sales process in which employees would contact the same national account multiple times instead of employing an integrated, strategically guided approach.

soLuTIonAfter considering solutions from four vendors managers decided that the economical Microsoft Dynamics CRM partner-hosted solution bestmettheirneeds.“MicrosoftDynamicsCRMwasthesimplestandmoststraightforwardsolutionweevaluated,”explainsKruse.“ItcanbeeasilyconfiguredtoourbusinessenvironmentandintegrateswellwithMicrosoftOfficeandOfficeOutlook.”Twenty-fouremployeesinonedivisionusethesalesmoduletologcustomerinformation,includingactivityonexistingcontractsandprojectbiddata.Salesandservicepersonnel access pricing data to ensure consistency across communications. Managers use the solution to create reports, then analyze and act upon this data.

benefITsThehostedsolution,bypartnerAxonom,allowedmanagerstoquicklyandcost-effectivelyimplementaCRMtooltoitsusers.“Westillhavethe option to bring Microsoft Dynamics CRM in house down the road if we want to,” says Kruse.” For now, the solution provides a centralized customer data repository that informs employees about what is happing on an account. When the solution is rolled out to all three of the company’s divisions, data visibility will eliminate the risk of one department underbidding another. “Having pricing information accessible tobothourinsideandoutsidesalespeoplewillsignificantlyreducepricingdisputesandpresentaconsistentmessagetocustomers,”saysKruse. Kruse also sees the new solution as a valuable tool to gain business intelligence. Sales managers can review customer interactions acrossanaccountandstrategicallyengageopportunitiesbasedonprofitmargincriteria.

heidtman steel products Rides Cutting Edge with Economical Hosted Microsoft Dynamics CRM Solution That Strengthen Business Intelligence


coMpAnyStanley,Inc.(NYSE:SXE)www.stanleyassociates.com

verTIcAL IndusTrySystems integration consulting

seGMenTLarge Business—3,500 employees


sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM LiveMicrosoftOffice2003SP1(ver11)Windows XP SP2

MIcrosofT pArTnerHitachi Consultingwww.hitachiconsulting.com

“The Microsoft [dynamics] crM [Live] solution takes the IT support burden off of our employees while delivering real-time data and workflow capabilities that will improve our effectiveness.” Becca Bushong, Business Intelligence Lead, Stanley

sITuATIonStanley,Inc.(NYSE:SXE)deliverssystemsintegrationandprofessionalservicestotheU.S.federalgovernment.Stanley’sbusinessdevelopment professionals collect the latest information on government accounts to help win new business. However, the intensive use ofe-mailandspreadsheetstomanuallycollect,distribute,andsharethisinformationwastimeconsuming.Bythetimeexecutivesreviewedreports, portions of the data were out of date. This hampered the managers’ ability to effectively pursue appropriate opportunities. Additionally, the company lacked the productivity-enhancing technology to manage and develop opportunities and contacts. These challenges triggered the search for a CRM solution.

soLuTIonManagersconsultedwithkeypersonneltodevelopalistofrequirements.“WewantedtheCRMsolutiontobeeasilyconfigurableandflexibletointegratewithourcurrentprocesses,”recallsBeccaBushong,businessintelligenceleadforStanley.“Ourcriteriaincludedtotal cost of ownership and weighed hosted versus on-premise options.” That led the CRM search committee to issue a request for proposal, whichgarneredthreevendorresponses.Ofthethree,theyselectedMicrosoftDynamicsCRMLive.“Thehostedsolutionfitourneedsperfectly.Wealsolikedthatitisveryeasytouse,integratesseamlesslywithOfficeOutlook,andincludesuser-configurableworkflows.”

benefITsThehostedsolutionprovidesthereal-timedataavailabilitythatexecutivesneedtomakeaccurateandtimelydecisions.Moreover, thecompany’sITdepartmentisnotresponsibleforitsimplementationorongoingmaintenance.Forexample,theydon’tneedto performupdatesorprovideinfrastructuretostoreandbackupthedata.Additionally,managerswillutilizetheuser-configurable workflowsavailableinthesolutiontoautomateopportunitymanagementadministrativetasksandstandardizeprocessestoensurecompliance with corporate policies.

stanley associates’ Mission-critical Hosted CRM Solution Improves Effectiveness of Business Intelligence and Sales Employees


CH2M HILL’s multiple CRM and home-grown opportunity tracking systems resulted in a diverse, disconnected set of applications for supporting business development. These islands of data drove redundancy in data entry and data inconsistency, and could not provide a single global view for managing strategic pursuits/accounts across the enterprise. Management engaged technologyresearchfirmGartnerConsultingtodiscussCRMneedsand objectives, and to get suggestions about potential vendor solutions. CH2M HILL’s selection committee narrowed the choices to four vendors, and ultimately selected Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

busIness needsCH2M HILL is an engineering, construction, and operations company that employs 23,000 people worldwide. The organization is composed of 12 business units that are staffed with dedicated business development resources. Over the years, the business units adopted various tools and systems to support their sales activities. TheinternalmixofCRMapplicationsincludedSalesLogix,Salesforce.com, and a variety of home-grown sales opportunity tracking tools. These disparate systems created data silos that madeitdifficulttogainanenterprise-viewofsalesopportunities.There was also no centralized customer or contact management system, resulting in uncoordinated selling by multiple business units into strategic accounts. Consequently, it became a labor-intensive process to provide aggregated opportunity data to CH2M HILL decision makers, and a challenge for them to make timely, informed decisions around the new business portfolio.

“Theseseparatesystemsmadeitdifficultforustoleverageefficienciesinsellingourfull-serviceportfolio,”saysThomasDoerr, project delivery director in Corporate Marketing and Communications. “We needed to bring our CRM processes and tools under one umbrella to provide the strategic coherence necessary to increase sales opportunities.”

soLuTIonArmed with a list of criteria and a clear idea of where they wanted to take their business development infrastructure, CH2MHILLmanagementconsultedwithGartner’sCRMexperts.Based on their suggestions, as well as input from key CH2M HILLexecutives,arequestforinformationwassenttofiveCRMvendors. Of the respondents, two eventually went head-to-head to compete for CH2M HILL’s business. The company contracted with both vendors and assigned a team to test both solutions. “We looked under the hood of both products, did detailed use-caseevaluations,andperformedsomesystemconfigurationsand integration,” recalls Doerr. “Our detailed analysis led to our selection of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The 10-year TCO [total cost of ownership] was a major differentiator. Ease of use and theintegrationwithourexistingSharePoint,OfficeOutlook,andMicrosoftOfficeapplicationswasalsoaverystrongfactorinitsfavor. These combined advantages, coupled with the ability to leverageourexistingITinfrastructure,madeitasimplechoice for our committee.”

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Engineers Optimal Business Development for Ch2m hill


coMpAnyCH2M HILLwww.ch2m.com

verTIcAL IndusTryEngineering Services



sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM 4.0Windows Server 2003MicrosoftOffice2003and2007MicrosoftExchangeServer2003&2007Microsoft SQL Server 2005Windows XP and Windows Vista

MIcrosofT pArTnerAvanade, Inc.www.avanade.com

“when the [Microsoft dynamics crM deployment is complete, we will have achieved the initial goal of providing an enterprise view into our accounts and opportunities. This breaks down business group barriers and provides a single platform for selling our full-service portfolio.” Thomas Doerr, Project Delivery Director in Corporate Marketing and Communications, CH2M HILL

Other deciding features included the capability to support a large-scale rollout to the company’s 12 business units. “Because we’re a global organization, the multi-currency capabilities of [Microsoft Dynamics] CRM were very important to us as well” explainsDoerr.

To create an enterprise-wide system, CH2M HILL management selected the on-premise deployment option. Business development personnel will make use of the sales module features primarily. “Effectively tracking and managing key accounts and opportunities is a core success factor for our business development,” says Doerr. “Microsoft [Dynamics] CRM and the SharePoint integration support this goal. The system also organizes data so that there is clear ownership and accountability.”

The lead-management system in Microsoft Dynamics CRM is new to CH2M HILL. “The notion that a lead is worked in the system until it becomes a viable contact, account, and/or opportunity is a good way to drive positive results,” states Doerr. “It may take time for that idea to take hold, but it will be much easier through the structured approach the new solution provides.”

Thenextlinkinthechainisthecompany’shandlingofopportunities. “We’re doing the most customization around this entity,” says Doerr. “We’re integrating our business rules and configuringthesolutiontoprovidecommonmetricsacrosstheenterprise. We’ll be able to produce good sales forecasting from that data, and provide dashboard views to help our business development staff track sales performance.”

Oncethesolutionisfullyintegratedintothefirm’sbusinessdevelopment operations, 2,500 users will be accessing the system.

benefITsUltimately, the solution supports the enterprise’s business development strategy for growing the right clients, and increasing opportunity evaluation and selectivity.

• Accountandcontactvisibilityboosteffectiveness—ThenewsolutionwillsignificantlyenhanceCH2MHILL’sbusinessgroups’ability to sell their services across accounts and to make more informed decisions around opportunities. This replaces legacy solutions that resulted in data silos.

• HistoricaldataenablesROIanalyses—Byusing Microsoft Dynamics CRM to capture sales forecasting and business development costs, CH2M HILL management willgainbettervisibilityintoaccountprofitability.Itwas difficulttocreateROIreportsthroughthelegacysystems.

• Standardizedtoolfuelsfuturegrowth—Thecompanyispoised to accelerate its growth and is implementing new standards,processes,andtoolstoefficientlyscaleoperations.Implementing Microsoft Dynamics CRM will allow CH2M HILL managementtodrivesalesandmarketingefficienciesacross thefirm’s12businessunits.

• Microsoftplatformleveragesexistinginfrastructureandusability—Microsoft Dynamics CRM integrates well with the company’sinstalledMicrosoftOffice,OfficeOutlook,andSharePoint platforms. A familiar and intuitive interface will reduce training time and speed user adoption.


Ten years of customer history and order data were “held hostage” by an online e-mail marketing vendor. New anti-spamming restrictions plus an unstable platform riddled with bugs introduced costly errors and lacked vital features The Norris Group needed. The database progressively degraded after the real estate company’s managers brought the data in house. When it crashed, chunks of data the company painstakingly collected over 10 years werelost.Thatspurredacomprehensivesearchthatidentifiedtwo CRM solution alternatives. The ease of use and hosted option tilted the decision in favor of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live. Since migrating to the new solution, marketers eliminated direct mail to75percentofthecompany’sleastprofitablecontacts.

busIness needsThe Norris Group managers felt “locked in” with an online marketing vendor. They relied upon them heavily to capture, maintain and use both customer history and order data in their marketing campaigns. The vendor eliminated critical features, leaving The Norris Group in a bind. When the vendor’s platform produced an increasing numbers of bugs, Norris Group managers decided to act. “The e-mail vendor eliminated the very features we needed to effectively market our seminar and loan products,” says Aaron Norris, marketing director for The Norris Group. “That’s when we brought the data in-house and built our own database.”

Thingswentwellatfirst,butovertimetheirhome-growndatabasebeganexhibitingerrors.Theseissueseventuallyculminatedinanunrecoverable crash that resulted in customer data loss. That data disasterspurredtheNorrisGrouptofinddependablemarketingtools within a comprehensive CRM solution.

soLuTIonNorris began his search for a CRM tool on the Internet. He read many white papers and quickly narrowed the 50 or so CRM systems down to SugarCRM, Salesforce.com, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Representatives from the three companies, including Microsoft partner Spinnaker, made their presentations. Norris’ team evaluated them against their two primary requirements of a solution with a low impact on the IT team and easy access for remote users.

“Iwantedahostedsolutionfortwoprimaryreasons,”explainsNorris. “I’m basically our IT department so I wanted a solution that would not be a burden on me to implement and maintain. Secondly, I wanted our employees working from home to be able to access and work with CRM data.”

Otherrequirementsincludedaflexibleplatformthatcouldeasilybeconfiguredbynon-technicalpeople.Theinterfacealsohadto be very simple and intuitive to use. “Our customers love our products and services, but we’ve done a poor job in the past of usingtechnologiestocaptureoperationalefficiencies,”recallsNorris. “To give you an idea of where we were, we recently implemented e-mail for employees. So we had to set the bar for ease-of-use of a CRM solution very high.”

Based on these criteria, Norris chose Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live. His team makes use of the marketing and sales modules. “Ilovetheinterface,”saysNorris.“ItworksverywellwithOfficeOutlook and we integrated it to collect data from our Web site.”

the norris group LandsMicrosoftDynamicsCRMLivetoEfficiently Develop Up-Sell Opportunities


coMpAnyThe Norris Groupwww.thenorrisgroup.com

verTIcAL IndusTryReal estate



sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM LiveMicrosoftOffice2003MicrosoftExchangeServer2003Windows XP

MIcrosofT pArTnerSpinnakerwww.spinnaker.net

“Microsoft [dynamics] crM [Live] is essential for us to achieve our long-term goal of effective marketing and sales touches with our customers.” Aaron Norris, Marketing Director, The Norris Group

Then, as customers interact with the company across different touch points, that activity is tracked and logged. “That helps make Microsoft [Dynamics] CRM [Live] our information hub,” says Norris. “We get a full view of our customers’ activities and preferences, which leads us to creating more sophisticated marketing campaigns.”

The new tool utilizes automated follow-up features to increase visibility and communication between the company’s departments toenhancemarketingactivities.Forexample,employeesusethemarketing module to create targeted marketing lists to advertise an upcoming seminar. Then they craft a campaign that uses direct mail and e-mail channels to contact prospects at appropriate dates before the seminar.

benefITsMicrosoft Dynamics CRM Live delivered the reliable platform Norris needed to protect, analyze, and share customer data with employees. His team can now use that data to sell and up-sell his firm’sproductsandservicesmuchmoreeffectively.

• Businessintelligenceslashesdirectmailcosts—Thecompanyused to send direct mail to 40,000 prospects. Managers used the marketing module to weed out 30,000 low-potential contacts and save the company thousands of dollars in direct mail costs.

• Interdepartmentalcustomervisibilityimprovesup-sellopportunities—Previously, employees in the loan and seminar departments were not aware of customer activity in the other departments.

The new solution allows marketers to scrutinize customer activities, and use that information to optimize cross-sell opportunities.Forexample,customerswhocompletetrainingseminarsmakeexcellentprospectsforthefirm’sloanproducts.

• Automationfeaturessignificantlyboostproductivity—Thecompany’s Web site generates 250 new prospects per month. It used to take 62 hours to input that data, but now employees can complete that in seven. After getting prospects into the system, employees used to write individual e-mails to follow up with people using a manual system. To replace that inefficientprocess,Norrisusedthesolution’sfeaturestocreatestandardized e-mails and letters and automate their distribution at different touch-points in the sales cycle. It used to take many minutes per e-mail versus the seconds it takes now.

• Centralizedcustomerdatarepositoryprotectscorporateassets—Before the CRM solution, when salespeople left the company, they took their client data with them. Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live ensures that hard-won customer data stays with the company and is accessible when employees leave, are on vacation, or are out sick.

• Hostedsolutioneasesadministrativeburden—Bychoosingthehosted solution, Microsoft takes on the IT burden of updating and administering the solution. Moreover, the company’s vital customer data is backed up by enterprise-class Microsoft infrastructure and processes.


coMpAnyHigh 5 Sportswear, Inc.www.high5sportswear.com

verTIcAL IndusTryClothing manufacturing and distribution

seGMenTSmall Business—120 employees


sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM LiveWindows Server 2003 SP2MicrosoftOffice2003,2007MicrosoftExchangeServer2003SP2Windows XP

MIcrosofT pArTnerEMC Global Serviceswww.emc.com

“What Microsoft [Dynamics] CRM [Live] does for us is make us much more effective and efficient in managing customer issues and capitalizing on opportunities.” Tom Mercer, VP of Sales and Marketing, High 5 Sportswear

sITuATIonHigh 5 Sportswear manufactures and distributes team athletic apparel to more than over 4,000 customers in the United States and Canada. Withnoformallead-generationortrackingsysteminplace,salespeoplehaddifficultycapitalizinguponleadsfromtradeshowsandadvertising responses. Moreover, lacking a centralized system to manage service issues resulted in time-consuming one-off solutions for every case. The inability to effectively share and manage customer information put a drag on basic business processes such as the quotation of product prices, for instance. As a result, customers quickly found out that if they didn’t like a quote from one person, they could call someoneelsetotryandimproveuponit.ExecutivesdecidedtoimplementaCRMsolutiontoaddressthesechallenges.Withverylimited IT resources and the need to have real-time information available to users, they decided their CRM solution would need to be hosted.

soLuTIonManagersreviewedand/ortestedvariousCRMalternatives,includingACT!andSalesforce.com.TomMercer,vicepresidentofsalesandmarketing at High 5 Sportswear recalls the criteria that were used to evaluate the options. “The solution had to be easy to use, it had to integratewellwithOfficeOutlook,ithadtobescalable,andithadtoofferahostedsolutionbecausewefranklydidn’thavetheITresourcesto implement and support it on our own.” Based on these criteria, Mercer’s team selected Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live and planned to implement it to as many as 40 users throughout the company. They utilize the full functionality of the application including marketing, salesandservice.Theservicemodulewasimplementedfirst,givingthecompanyacomprehensivecase-managementsystem.

benefITsThe company needed only minimal IT resources to implement Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live. “We wouldn’t have been able to do it ourselves, oritwouldhavetaken18monthsormore,”explainsMercer.Microsoftmaintainstheapplication,ensuringthatitisavailableandthatdatais backed up. High 5 Sportswear’s marketers will use the marketing module to increase hot leads by creating targeted lists and customized campaigns. The sales module provides an organized system for salespeople to consistently manage leads from beginning to end. “Being abletoautomatethecreationofcustomercommunicationsandfollow-uptasksmakesusmorerelevanttoourcustomers,”explainsMercer.Asfortheservicemodule:“Wenowhaveasystemtotrackinteractionswithcustomersandworkissuestoaneffectiveandefficientresolution,” says Mercer.

high 5 sportswear, Inc. Wins Big with Microsoft Dynamic CRM Live Lead Management System Deployment and Implementation


coMpAnyJBMRA – Sperry Van Ness Institutionalwww.jbmra.com

verTIcAL IndusTryReal Estate

seGMenTSmall Business—20 employees at JBMRA


sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM Live (Microsoft-hosteddeployment)Windows Server 2003MicrosoftOffice2003and2007MicrosoftExchangeServer2003Windows XP and Windows Vista


“Microsoft [dynamics] crM Live allows our mobile brokers to access and use customer data offline and to collaborate with each other to close sales.” Derrick Dike, Director of Information Technology Services, JBMRA – Sperry Van Ness Institutional

sITuATIonJBMRA—SperryVanNessInstitutional(JBMRA)specializesinthemarketingofhigh-endrealestatepropertiesintheUnitesStates.Salesdepend upon the ability of brokers and agents to promote these properties and work knowledgeably with prospective buyers. As properties becomeavailable,agentsandbrokersaccessedthefirm’sOfficeOutlookpublicfoldersandrecordskeptinOfficeExcelspreadsheets.

“Our legacy systems had a ridiculous amount of contacts and data,” says Derrick Dike, director of information technology services at JBMRA. “Our data was a corruption waiting to happen, and I knew we needed to migrate to an effective long-term CRM solution.”

soLuTIonDike’spastexperienceandresearchledhimtodotrialswithBasecamp,Salesforce.com,andMicrosoftDynamicsCRMLive.HechosetheMicrosoft solution because it best met his criteria. “Microsoft [Dynamics] CRM [Live] integrates with our Web site to capture visitor data and allowustofollowupwiththem,”explainsDike.“Wealsolikethatit’shighlyconfigurableandallowsustotailorourcontactandaccountfieldstosuitourspecificdataneeds.Theapplication’ssupportforourhighlymobilebrokerswasanotherbigplus.”

benefITsMicrosoftDynamicsCRMLiveeliminatedtheriskoflosingdecentralizedcustomerdata.Thefirm’sinformationisprotectedonMicrosoft-hosted servers that utilize reliable data backup processes and technologies. The application allows mobile users to access and input data on themove,somethingthatbrokerscouldnotdopreviously.TheycandoofflinebackgroundsynchronizationwithOfficeOutlook.Moreover,brokers can immediately log notes about a client walkthrough, which another broker can later access to tailor the presentation of a property to their prospect. From an IT perspective, Dike likes the hosted solution. “Microsoft [Dynamics] CRM [Live] is not a burden on our limited IT resources.Italsosynchronizesdatawellamongoffices.That’ssomethingIhadproblemswithusingotherapplications.”

High-End Real Estate Company JBmra Puts Mobile Brokers in Prime Position to Increase Sales—with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live


The goal of South African Tourism’s global employees is to increase tourism to the nation to help enhance the nation’s economy. This global presence created a unique challenge: collaborationbetweenofficesacrosstimezones.Managershadlittle visibility into what employees were doing. Lacking this basic knowledge,decisionmakershaddifficultytyingactivitiesto results and the achievement of their strategic initiatives. To address this issue and more, they leveraged the research of a tier-one customer relationship management consultancy and selected Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Managers favor the application’s multi-tenancy feature to tailor data to suit the agency’s three main user groups.

busIness needsSouthAfricanTourism(SAT)wasorganizedtodrivetourismtocreatebothjobsandtradetobenefittheSouthAfricaneconomy.Seventy of the agency’s 150 employees work in other countries, makingitdifficultformanagerstotracktheirpromotionalactivities and fully leverage collaborative efforts. Marketing strategistshaddifficultyinmeasuringwhethertheirprogramsandinitiativeswereeffective,andifso,whatspecificallywasaccounting for the success. Adding to the collaboration obstacles was the fact that global employees speak different languages, work in different time zones, and use different currencies.

SAT’s legacy technologies compounded the problem. “Databases” consisted of spreadsheets and standalone applications that lacked the interface to effectively manage and mine data. “We would getreports,buttheyweren’tdetailedenoughtoactconfidentlyupon,”explainsFionaBuchner,managerofe-businessforSAT.

On the service side of the house, the agency’s proprietary call-centeragentdatabaseperformedpoorlyandlackedtheflexibilityto enable effective customer service.

“Overall, our biggest burning desire was to capture and store customer contact data so that it becomes institutional knowledge that is not lost or unavailable when someone leaves us or goes on vacation,” recalls Buchner.

soLuTIonEagertoimprovethecapture,use,sharing,andfinancial potential of relationship data, Buckner started the very intensive governmentprocurementprocess.“Wecompletedextensive due diligence comparing the Oracle CRM application to Microsoft Dynamics CRM,” recalls Buchner. “Our analysts felt that from a Microsoft environment integration and cost perspective, Microsoft CRM better suited our needs.”

SAT chose the on-premise deployment of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, using all three of its modules: marketing, sales, and service. Several application features stood out as being particularly valuable for SAT’s environment. “We needed the multi-tenancy feature because we have three different user groups that capture and use different data,” says Buchner. “This solution letsuscustomizetheiruserexperienceatminimalcostandongoing maintenance.”

south african tourism Agency Chooses Microsoft Dynamics CRM to Attract Visitors and Strengthen Relations with Distinct Customer Groups


coMpAnySouth African Tourismwww.southafrica.net

verTIcAL IndusTryTourism


counTry/reGIonAfrica

sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM 4.0Windows Server 2003MicrosoftOffice2003MicrosoftExchangeServer2003Microsoft SQL Server 2005Windows XP

MIcrosofT pArTnerIS Partnerswww.ispartners.co.za

“Microsoft crM met the biggest burning desire for our organization. The need to organize, store and access customer data so that it becomes an institutional asset that we don’t lose when someone gets a job elsewhere.” Fiona Buchner, Manager of E-Business, South African Tourism

The three user groups consist of trade relations managers, who collect and use data relating to international travel contacts like tour operators and travel agents; marketing and communications managers, who establish and cultivate long-term relations with global media contacts like editors and journalists; and business tourism managers, who solicit global business attendees to large-scaleconferencesandexhibitionsheldinSouthAfrica.

SAT’s call center responds to callers from all over the world 24/7. To upgrade SAT’s call center responsiveness, call agents will use the Microsoft Dynamics CRM service module. “Our agents serve a number of international trades, businesses, and individuals,” explainsBuchner.“Theycollectthatcustomerinformation,sendbrochures and answer questions they may have. It’s a critical application for our 20 agents.”

SAT managers plan to organize standard procedures for marketing and communications campaigns and use the MicrosoftDynamicsCRMworkflowsfeaturetoestablishcontrolsthat ensure consistency across deliverables. They will also use theworkflowstomakesurethatcustomer-facingcommunicationsare reviewed to meet corporate standards. Beyond that, employees will use the marketing module to create marketing lists for campaignsspecifictoeachofthethreediscreteusergroupsatSAT.

benefITsTheMicrosoftDynamicsCRMimplementationreplacesinefficientlegacy systems with a centralized data repository to provide a 360-degree view of customers.

• Enablesproactivedecisionmaking—Byimplementingmulti-language, multi-currency capabilities, global employee activity and notes are searchable and reportable to substantially improve the actionable knowledge available to marketing strategists.

• Facilitatescustomizationandisusercentric—The Microsoft Dynamics CRM multi-tenancy feature allows SAT to tailor data for use by its three distinct user groups. Only data relevant to each user is presented on their tab.

• Deliversenhancedproductivity—Bycollectingandstoringdataabout customers and linking the results of marketing initiatives to them, managers can aggregate data to start establishing benchmarks. As a result, they can start measuring performance and taking actions to improve upon those results.

• Theprocess-centriccallcentercanmakeuseofproductivity-enhancingworkflowcapabilitiestoensureconsistencyincustomer interactions and ultimately reduce the average number of minutes to resolve an issue or serve a customer request.


Volt Information sciences Employs Microsoft Dynamics CRM to Coordinate Sales Activities and Utilize Business Intelligence

VoltInformationSciences,Inc.providesstaffingservices,telecommunications, and information solutions to Fortune 100 customers. The global operator’s 5,000 employees worked in an environment where customer data was kept in a wide array of databasesusingtoolsasdiverseasOfficeOutlook,ACT!,and evenRolodexes.Thesesolutionscreatedsilosofcustomerinformation, limited visibility into sales and marketing data, and hampered employees from effectively collaborating on major accounts.Toaddressthesechallenges,executivesimplementedMicrosoftDynamicsCRMbecauseitbestmetthefirm’susability,user acceptance, and system integration criteria.

busIness needsVoltInformationSciences,Inc.(NYSE:VOL)providesstaffing,telecommunications, and information solutions to Fortune 100 companiesthroughfourbusinesssegments.Thefirm’s5,000employees represent a global workforce, operating out of the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and South America. When it came to marketing and sales operations, the $2.3 billion-a-year company faced a number of challenges.

Employeeshadadoptedaheterogeneousmixofcontactmanagementsolutions,relyinguponOfficeOutlook,ACT!,theirRolodexes,andspreadsheetstokeeptrackofcustomerdata.Thisledto the proliferation of customer data silos. With visibility into sales limitedtothelocalofficelevel,businessunitscouldnotcoordinatetheirefforts.Forexample,businessunitsfocusedonplacingengineering or accounting personnel respectively could not always leverage the success of each other to penetrate the same account.

Moreover, managers could not effectively collect and report their customer-relateddatabeyondtheirownoffice,norweretheyusingconsistentterminologyacrossoffices.

soLuTIon“WeappliedarigorousprocesstofindaCRMsolution,”says SteveActerman,directorofcorporateITatVolt.“Wedidextensiveresearch beginning with the tools our employees were already using,thenexpandingthesearchtofocusonscalableenterprisesolutions.” Additional criteria included the ability to seamlessly operatewithOfficeOutlookasthefirm’semployeesrelyupon it heavily throughout their day. Additionally, IT staffers needed a solution that could tightly integrate with the company’s SQLServerandMicrosoftExchangeplatforms.Andfinally,theyneeded a CRM solution that would effectively support both onlineandofflinework.

DecisionmakersnarrowedthefieldtoSiebelCRM,OnyxCRM, SugarCRM, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM—and selected Microsoft because its solution best met their requirements. They implemented Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 on a wide scale and have since upgraded to Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Initially,theStaffingServicesGroupwillbeissuedmorethan450licenses for the new version with other operating segments joining the new platform as the solution is phased in.

Employees will use the sales module to support sales force automation objectives. “The activities of our salespeople will be seamlesslyintegratedintothefamiliarOfficeOutlookinterface,”explainsActerman.“Theirphonecallto-dolistwillbeprovidedtothem and where they make contact, the results will be logged into Microsoft[Dynamics]CRMsothatcoworkersintheirofficeandother business units can use that data,” added Robin Kibota, Volt’s CRM project manager.


coMpAnyVolt Information Sciences, Inc.www.volt.com

verTIcAL IndusTryStaffingandITservices


counTry/reGIonNorth AmericaEMEALATAM

sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM 4.0Windows Server 2003MicrosoftOfficeProfessional2003;transitioning to 2007 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 rolloutMicrosoftExchangeServer2003Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006Microsoft SQL Server 2000; transitioning to 2005 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 rolloutWindows XP Professional

MIcrosofT pArTnerePartners Incorporatedwww.epartnersolutions.com

“The many-to-many relationship feature available in Microsoft dynamics crM gives our employees the ability to effectively coordinate across numerous accounts with multiple sales opportunities. Steve Acterman, Director of Corporate IT, Volt Information Sciences, Inc.

Another enhanced feature in Microsoft Dynamics CRM is the ability to support many-to-many relationships. Volt managers will make use of it to facilitate up-sell and cross-sell opportunities across business units.

The sales module implementation will eventually encompass internationaloffices,takingadvantageofmulti-tenancy,multi-language, and multi-currency features now available in the new version. Later phases will introduce the application’s marketing module for general use throughout the company.

benefITsMicrosoft Dynamics CRM is designed to meet the needs of a multinationalcompanylikeVolt.Itcansupportthefirm’sdiversebusiness units, allowing them to collaborate on Fortune 100 accountsandensureexecutiveshavetheglobaldatatheyneedto create reports that capture sales intelligence and lead to sound decisions.

• Multi-tenancy,multi-language,andmulti-currencyfeaturespositionthecompanyforglobalexpansionandenhancedcompetitiveness—The application’s multi-tenancy feature ensures that Volt can implement its CRM solution enterprise-wide to envelope all its international locations. Moreover, by phasinginitsinternationaloffices,salespeopletherecanbeaseffective as their North American counterparts, and be more competitive in winning additional business from international Fortune 100 accounts.

• Salesforceautomationincreasesemployees’performance—Using the new solution, salespeople will more effectively manage their pipeline to increase their win rates and shorten the sales cycle.

• Highlyconfigurableandflexibleplatformspeedstimetouse—BecauseMicrosoftDynamicsCRMcanbeconfiguredsoeasily and quickly, Volt managers can bring other departments and customer-facing platforms on board very rapidly.

• Reportsbasedoncomprehensivecustomerdatacreatesactionable intelligence:

> The new solution puts Volt employees on a standard CRM platform utilizing the same sets of reports based on common datafieldsandterminology.Hencemanagerscancreatereliable reports to identify trends and measure sales activity.

> In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, users may generate custom queries/views and save them to a pick list without the aid of a programmer.

• Centralizedsolutioneliminatescustomerdatasilostoincreasecross-sell opportunities:

> The many-to-many relationship feature, which provides the ability to tie many accounts to multiple opportunities with multiple roles, gives employees the ability to more effectively coordinate their sales efforts. So rather than approaching the same company as three different divisions unaware of the experienceoftheothers,salespeoplecantouchthemasa single company.

> Additionally, sales people can research Microsoft Dynamics CRM to get up to speed on how others have penetrated accounts beforetheyevenpickupthephonetomakethefirstcall.


coMpAnyAccium BioScienceswww.acciumbio.com

verTIcAL IndusTryContract Research Services for the Pharmaceutical, Biotech and Medical Devices Industry


counTry/reGIonUnited States

sofTwAre And servIcesMicrosoft Dynamics CRM LiveMicrosoftOffice2003MicrosoftExchangeServer2003(Hosted)Windows XP and Windows Vista


“Given the complexity and detail of our business, it would not be possible to meet our growth objectives without a tool like Microsoft dynamics crM [Live].” Michael Chansler, Vice President of Business Development, Accium BioSciences

sITuATIonIt takes about 12 years and $1 billion to develop, test, and bring a new drug to market. Reducing that time means saving millions for Accium BioSciences’pharmaceuticalcustomers.Thecompanyusesitsexpertisetospeedtheclinicaltrialsprocess.Butmanualprocesses,suchaskeepingtrackofinformationinspreadsheetsandonnotes,madereachingprospectsandmanagingapipelinedifficult.“Inorderforusto be successful in our sales, marketing, and service efforts, we had to go to an integrated system,” says Michael Chansler, vice president of business development. “One that would provide a central repository of information on our clients and their projects as well as provide workflowstoautomateandcodifyourprocesses.”

soLuTIonChanslerhadusedSalesforce.combutconsideredithardtointegrateintotheoffice’sMicrosoftplatform.“Weendedupchoosing Microsoft[Dynamics]CRM[Live]becauseitreplacesmanualsystemswithawaytotrackandmanageprospects,”explainsChansler.“So thatwenotonlypursuemoreprofitableopportunities,butclosemoreofthem.”Initially,thecompanyisusingthemarketingandsalesmodules.InPhaseI,thesalesmodulehasbeenconfiguredwithcustomdatafieldsandtheabilitytotrackdiscreteprojectsforthesamecustomer.InPhaseIIofthedeployment,executiveswillbeabletocreatereportsandservicepersonnelcanmanageclinicalprotocol projects with the service module.

benefITsTheprocesstocompletetestingoftissue/fluidsamplesforclinicaltrialsiscomplexandrequiresintricateinterdepartmentalcommunication.“Previously, we spent a lot of time handing off a project from one department to another,” says Chansler. “That was frustrating to our clients whohadtoexplainthesituationagain,andunnecessarilyextendedtheprocess.Now,withMicrosoft[Dynamics]CRM[Live],thenewdepartment can read the project notes for that customer and quickly pick up the ball. That translates into higher customer satisfaction, which in turn boosts our retention rate. It’s always easier to keep a customer than it is to acquire a new one.”

accium Biosciences Finds Perfect Formula to Increase Customer Satisfaction and Reduce Time to Market with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live


© 2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This document is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS DOCUMENT.Microsoft,BizTalk,Excel,MicrosoftDynamics,theMicrosoftDynamicslogo,Outlook, SharePoint, SQL Server, Windows, Windows Server, and Windows Vista are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

more InFormatIonTofindoutmoreabouttheseorotherfeaturesofMicrosoftDynamicsCRM,

contact your Microsoft sales representative, Microsoft partner, or visit www.microsoft.com/dynamics/crm.

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BUSINESS SUCCESSdownload.microsoft.com/documents/australia/dynamics/mbs...The Trail Blazers organization has a relatively fixed population to market tickets to in the Portland area